Scandal - Joseon namnyeo sangyeoljisa (2003)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Je-yong Lee

Writers:

Dae-woo Kim (writer)
Hyeon-jeong Kim (writer)

Release Date:

2 October 2003 (South Korea)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Based on the novel 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses,' this film is set in aristocratic 18th-century Korea at the end of the Chosun Dynasty...

Plot Keywords:

18th Century | Korea | Foreign Language Adaptation | Hanbok | Tragic Ending

Awards:

5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Mi-suk Lee	...	Madam Jo
Do-yeon Jeon	...	Suk
Yong-jun Bae	...	Jo-won
Hyeon-jae Jo	...	Kwon In-ho
So-yeon Lee	...	So-ok
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ban-ya Choi	...	Chu-wol
Ha-kyeong Kim

Also Known As:

Scandal - Chosun nam nyo sang yeol jisa (South Korea) (alternative transliteration)
The Scandal (International: English title)
Untold Scandal (International: English title)

Runtime:

124 min (25 fps)

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:R16 | Sweden:7 | South Korea:18 | Hong Kong:III | Singapore:R(A) | Japan:R-18 | UK:18

Company:

B.O.M. Film Productions Co.

Trivia:

Replaced 2046 (2004) as the closing film at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Movie Connections:

Version of Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Well-told Scandal

I've seen the previous films based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and I have to say that this one is surely the most subtle of the bunch, with wonderfully nuanced performances from all concerned. The story is familiar, of course, to anyone acquainted with the material, but it's the way it's told here, with such profound restraint, that separates it from being merely derivative. I haven't seen that many films from Korea, but based on this one, I would definitely like to see more, particularly from director Je-yong Lee.

Can't imagine why Elvis Mitchell (in his Times review) called this a comedy (and it's even listed here at IMDb as a drama/comedy) - perhaps if you're a first-class sadist, it would come across as amusing, this tragic story of disillusionment, heartbreak and ultimate death. I wasn't laughing.

(7 - the equivalent of a high *** - see my review of AI for my IMDb number/star equivalents, unique to this site)